A
painting by Piero della Francesca, dated 1451 and located in the
Malatesta Temple (Tempio Malatestiano) in Rimini, represents without
a doubt the coasts of the North American continent.
By
Riccardo Magnani
The
Malatesta Temple in Rimini is the main church of the city and for
this reason it is usually indicated by the citizens as the Duomo, the
Cathedral. Completely renovated starting from 1447 with the
contribution of artists such as Leon Battista Alberti, Matteo de'
Pasti, Agostino di Duccio and Piero della Francesca, though not
complete, it is the key work of the Renaissance of Rimini and one of
the most significant architectures of the Italian 15th century
Under
the lordship of Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, it was immediately
decided to build a chapel dedicated to St. Sigismund, namesake saint
as well as patron of the customer, at first assigning the project to
Matteo de' Pasti from Verona, only to entrust the remaining
restoration to the highest-rated artist Leon Battista Alberti.
It
is not my intention here to make an analysis of the Temple. Instead,
I want to bring attention to something very significant in order to
define, or rather we should say re-define, much of our history and
those events that have characterized it. I am referring to a painting
by Piero della Francesca located in the latter part of the Temple,
which is precisely characterized by the actions of Sigismondo
Pandolfo Malatesta.
Herein
lies the fresco made by Piero della Francesca in 1451, which in the
opinion of biographers and academics portrays Sigismondo Pandolfo
Malatesta praying to Saint Sigismund. In this painting, "the
glorification of the customer is at the peak, the religious theme
intertwines with dynastic and political aspects, as in the features
of St. Sigismund hiding those of the Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg,
who, investing the Malatesta as a knight in 1433, legitimized his
dynastic succession, and ratified his seizure of power" (De
Vecchi-Cerchiari)...
